Hijikata's family
by Sa-chan14
Summary: Hijikata Toshiko couldn't believe that she was really at the HQ of the Shinsengumi. She was a moment away to see her son, who she hadn't seen for years. - Hijikata is going to be reunited with his family after years of seperation.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**

The family members of Hijikata Toshizou are my original characters, their names resembles their personality or appearance. The events that happened to Hijikata and his family are also made up.

* * *

"Hijikata-san!" Nagakura yelled as he ran toward the room of the vice-commander.

Hijikata opened the door. What is it?" he asked irritated.

Okita came up from behind Nagakura and looked playful at Hijikata's face. "You look really bad, Hijikata-san."

"Don't Souji, I'm not in the mood for your jokes today."

"It wasn't a joke though," Okita whispered.

Hijikata sighed deeply and turned around, ready to close the door.

"Wait, Hijikata-san," Nagakura said. "There is someone who wants to see you."

"Who?"

"I don't know her name, but she looks like you."

"What do you mean?" Hijikata had turned around and was serious now.

"It's just as he said. There is a woman who resembles you and who wants to talk to you," Okita said.

"Come on Hijikata-san, I'm sure she will lift your mood for today."

Hijikata sighed again and gave in.

As Hijikata came closer to the room he could hear a woman's laughter. It reminded him of his own mother's voice. It has been a long time since he had seen her. But they agreed to that, for her own safety.

Nagakura opened the door and let in Hijikata first.

Hijikata stood still as he saw the woman. She'd aged, but she had still the same long black hair as in the past.

There were more people in the room, but he could only recognize the two oldest visitors. The four pair of eyes who hadn't seen him before followed him as he walked toward the woman next to Kondou.

"Toshizou …" the woman said and stood up. She brought a hand to his face and touched his cheek. Her fingers were long and her skin soft. It was an indescribable feeling.

Hijikata felt his body heat up. He began to feel shy from the men watching him. After Okita and Nagakura came in, Heisuke and Harada walked by and joined them. But seeing this wonderful person after so many years made him soon forget that they were in the room too.

"Ok a-san." He took her hand in his and leaned forward. A soft kiss was placed on her forehead.

"Oka-chan, who's that?" a small voice asked from behind Hijikata.

"My brother," a young woman answered in stead of her mother.

"Tamiko …" Hijikata turned around and looked at his sister.

"Don't be so emotional, nii-san, that's nothing like you."

"I'm not the only one being emotional, nee-chan."

"Shut up." She took a few steps toward him. "I missed you."

"I missed you and oka-san too." He brought his lips to her ear and whispered "You look gorgeous."

Tamiko blushed. "Arigatou," she said barely hard enough for Hijikata to hear.

Hijikata smiled and pulled her into a hug. Tamiko started to cry, not being able to hold back the tears from all those years.

"Nee-chan, ish that the person we're looking fohr?"

Tamiko stepped away from her brother and looked at the boy. "Yes, Natsu. This is the person we had missed for many years."

Natsu stood up and bowed for Hijikata. "It'sh nice to meet you, my name ish Natsu and I'm seven years young."

Hijikata bent down. "Welcome to the family, Natsu," he said and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Can I call you nii-chan?"

Hijikata nodded after a moment thinking. He didn't want to disappoint Natsu.

Natsu gave him a big smile, giving Hijikata again that special feeling.

"Uhm Hijikata-san," Heisuke began, "I don't understand how your family works."

"Yeah, same here," Harada said.

Hijikata sat down with his legs crossed in the middle of the room. Before he could say anything, Natsu placed himself in Hijikata's lap.

"Nii-chan." The boy looked up and met the two purple eyes. The look in the vice-commander's eyes was way softer than normal. The men from the Shinsengumi were surprised to see that.

"You like it to say that?"

Natsu nodded.

"Uhm, can I … call you that too?" Hijikata looked up at the girl standing in front of him. "What's your name?"

"… R-Rini."

"Of course you can, Rini." Hijikata smiled at her, which brought a little sparkle in her eyes.

"Hijikata-san," Nagakura said.

"Oh yeah, I'll tell you when the others are also here. Otherwise I'll have to explain it multiple times."

"I'll go search for them," Kondou said and stood up. Only then the other men, except Hijikata, realized he was holding a baby. Kondou gave back the baby to her mother and walked out of the room.

Toshiko kneeled down next to Rini in front of her sons. "This is our youngest family member. His name is Hoshi and he is five months old."

"Where is his real mother?" Hijikata asked and tenderly brushed Hoshi's cheek.

"I don't know. Tamiko found him in a basket near a river."

"I'm glad you picked him up Tamiko."

"He would have died if we didn't save him, because no one else would've done that."

"Is it so terrible there?"

"Yes, that's why we decided to come here," Toshiko said.

"And because we wanted to meet our older brother," another girl said. She bowed in her sitting position and introduced herself. "I am Okimi, sixteen years old. My father didn't want me anymore, so he sold me. But I ran away from the man who bought me."

The Shinsengumi members were silenced by the way she spoke. Her voice was soft but toneless. Just like the look in her eyes. Dead inside, but beautiful on the outside.

"She'd had a hard life, so it's the best not to ask her anything," Toshiko said.

Hijikata nodded slowly while observing the sixteen year old girl. She was beautiful. Really enchanting. Probably one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen, save for those in geiko houses.

And Chizuru.

Just as he was thinking about not having seen her all day, the door opened. Saito and Sannan came in, bowed for his mother and sat down.

Chizuru had walked behind them, but did not enter the room.

"Chizuru, where were you?" Hijikata asked.

She didn't answer his question and sat down next to the door.

"Chizuru-chan, how many time do we need to tell you?" Harada asked. You're part of the Shinsengumi now, so you may sit next to us."

"I'm good here."

"Chizuru-"

"Toshi, don't push her."

Hijikata sighed and focused again on Okimi, who was watching Chizuru now. She reminded him of himself. Stern, talking in a commanding way, making everyone listen to you, but not listening to them.

Hijikata realized everyone was waiting for him to tell his and his family's story. He cleared hos throat as Rini and his mother sat down beside Tamiko.

"While I was in training by Kondou-san I heard that my father died. I journeyed alone to my old home to go to the funeral. My mother, Toshiko, said that she was going to take in children who didn't have a home, to make them happy. Tamiko is my only biological sister. I've never seen the others before now."

"But … did you never visit your mother and sister?" Heisuke asked.

Hijikata shook his head. "That was too dangerous. If one of our enemies came to know where my family lived, they would have taken advantage of it. Especially because I am the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi."

"That's … true."

"Don't think too much about it, Heisuke," Nagakura said and slapped him on his back.

"Ah!. That hurts Shinpat-san." Heisuke had bent over and tried to reach the spot where Nagakura had hit him.

A small giggle was heard and Heisuke looked to his right. As he made eye contact with Rini, she hesitantly smiled at him. Which made Heisuke forget about the pain.

"So," Kondou said. "I think we need to save the questions for later. Right now Toshi will show you your rooms and after that you can rest till dinner."

Hijikata nodded while lifting Natsu from his lap and stood up. "Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hijikata and Toshiko sat on a bench in the garden. Hoshi was in the arms of his brother while the others were playing with a ball.

Hijikata couldn't help but think about Chizuru. She was not her usual self today. He and the other members wanted to help her, but she was nowhere to be found.

Toshiko glanced over to her son. "What are you thinking about?"

Hijikata shook his head, as if to clear his mind. "Nothing much."

"Tell me, Toshizou. Even if it is the most unimportant thing or thought in the world, I want you to talk to me about it."

"I know, but it's difficult."

"Don't worry. Take your time."

A moment passed and Hijikata still didn't know how to start. Then he saw Natsu running towards him.

"Nii-chan," he whispered as he stood in front of Hijikata, his hand on top of Hijikata's knees. "That person there-" he nodded at the girl standing at the porch-"wash also in the room when you talked about us, right?"

Hijikata looked at the girl. "Yes Natsu, can you try to tell her to come over here?"

"How can I call her?"

"… Chizuru-nee-chan," Hijikata said with a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Okay." The little boy ran away.

"Were you thinking about her, Toshizou?"

Hijikata nodded. "She's not being herself today."

"Maybe that's because we are here."

"But why would she behave so distantly?"

"Ask her." Toshiko moved aside to make room for Chizuru.

Hijikata watched her as she bowed and introduced herself. She tried her best to hide the fact that she wasn't feeling all too well. But Hijikata could see her struggle.

"Come sit down, my girl." Toshiko patted on the empty space between her and Hijikata.

Chizuru sat down and folded her hands together.

"Toshizou, show her Hoshi."

"Oh yes." Hijikata turned a little nit so that Chizuru could take a good look at his little brothers, he saw the usual softness returning to her eyes. "Would you like to hold him?"

Chizuru nodded, a smile slowly forming on her lips. "He's so cute."

A few moments passed in silence, an uncomfortable silence.

Toshiko stood up abruptly, causing the other two to look up.

"I'll play with the children, so you two can talk." Before they could say anything to oppose her idea, she walked away. Making the tension even more unbearable.

"I-I'm sorry about earlier," Chizuru whispered.

"Don't be." Hijikata leaned back and crossed his arms in front of is chest.

"You're not obliged to tell me everything."

"But I ignored your question."

"Chizuru, it's okay to have a bad day sometimes. It just a little bit of a shame it has to be today."

"… I'm really sorry."

"Don't apologize. You'll make me feel bad."

"I'm-"

"Chizuru!" Hijikata said with a stern voice, something he barely did these days.

"Oh yeah." She looked shy away from Hijikata.

"You really need to learn not to apologize. Even when it's not your fault, you apologize. People can misuse that. And we don't want that to happen."

"I understand."

"But lets not think about it any further. It's supposed to be a joyful day today."

"Yes." Chizuru glanced up at Hijikata. He was smiling, enjoying the sight of running children in front of them. "I envy you."

Hijikata's smile disappeared. "For what?"

"For having a family." She paused, trying to keep her voice steady.

"You also have a family."

"Not… like you. I don't have parental love and I don't have a brother anymore. Everyone died."

"You know that is not true. They are not your real family, but you can think of Kondou-san as your father and the men as your brothers."

"I know, but it's not the same Hijikata-san," she whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry." She handed over Hoshi to Hijikata and walked away.

"Why must you be such an idiot, Toshi," Hijikata said to himself as he watched the young woman turning around the corner.

Almost the whole Hijikata family was in the kitchen making dinner. The only missing member was Hoshi. He was taking a nap in Kondou's room while Kondou was reading some letters. Rini and Natsu were sitting next to the door which led to the hallway. They were too young to help, but wanted to stay with them in the kitchen.

"Toshizou, does that girl live here?" Okimi asked, curious about why he would worry so much about her.

"Which girl?"

"Chizuru-nee-chan," Natsu said.

"Ah, yes she lives here."

"Why? It's not like she is a warrior or something."

Hijikata stopped cutting the vegetables. Something in the tone of her speech made him think she didn't like Chizuru being here. But he would change that. He couldn't handle it if one of his siblings would dislike Chizuru. "She is the daughter of one of our respected doctors. He disappeared during a fire, so she came here to search for him. But unfortunately he died."

"Then… why is she still here? Doesn't she have other family members of friends?"

"Okimi, please mind your words," Toshiko said.

"Toshiko-san, she is right, so you don't need to worry."

Toshiko turned around toward the voice. She saw Chizuru standing in the door opening. Her eyes were swollen and red. Shed probably cried a lot after her talk with Hijikata. Toshiko had seen her walk away from her son. She wanted to walk after her and talk to her, but had decided not to. They didn't know each other, so to have a deep talk about feelings didn't seem right. She would have a talk with her tomorrow, just as she wanted to talk with the other members.

"Chizuru," Hijikata said, breaking through Toshiko's thoughts.

"I don't have any living family members. And the people who truly know me are here."

Okimi looked at Chizuru. She was surprised by the young woman standing there. And a little embarrassed by her hearing what she just said.

"What happened to your mother and siblings?" Toshiko asked.

"My mother died when I was young and my brother… got murdered after we finally met again after years of separation." Chizuru tried to hold back the tears, but one single tear left behind a wet trace on her right cheek.

"Then you are the same as ush," Natsu exclaimed loudly.

Chizuru looked down, took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes."

Tamiko, who had been silent all this time, stepped forward. "It's okay to cry once in a while. You're trying hard to hide the tears, but don't hold back just because of the children. Or because of Toshizou." Tamiko reached out to Chizuru and put her arms around her.

A wave of shock, hope and grief went through Chizuru's body. It was the first time someone had hugged her so openly inside the HQ. there were some girls who hugged her before but not for emotional support. And never in front of Hijikata.

"Don't think too much about it, Chizuru-chan," Toshiko said as she also stpped forward and stroked her back. "Just let it all go."

Chizuru didn't know what to do. So much affection at one time was too much for her. But despite that she returned the hug. And let the tears stream down her face. She heard someone walking away. Large footsteps fading into the room next to them. It was probably Hijikata, although she wouldn't know why he would walk away.

"Don't mind him, Chizuru. He not good with emotional stuff, as you probably already know," Tamiko said.

Chizuru nodded, but her mind would always be occupied with worries and thoughts about Hijikata.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next day, after lunch, Toshiko stood in front of Kondou's room. She knocked on the door with her left hand while holding Hoshi close to her with her right hand. "Isami-kun, it's me, can I enter the room?"

"Yes come in."

She opened the door and saw her son sitting next to Kondou.

"Oka-san, I though you were with the kids?"

"Yes I was, but Okimi and Rini want to take a walk through the city. So I came here to ask permission."

"Well, you have my permission." Kondou looked at Hijikata, as if asking if he was alright with it.

"Only with company from one of the men." Hijikata didn't make eye contact with his mother, indicating that he didn't really like the idea of them going out.

"I suggest you take Toudou-kun with you. It will be good for him to have a motherly figure to talk to," Kondou said.

"Alright, I will ask Heisuke-kun to come with me. I also need someone to look after Hoshi and Natsu."

"I will take care of Hoshi," Kondou said, his arms already stretched out towards the little boy.

"You really like him, don't you Kondou-san?" Hijikata asked.

"Yes, I do Toshi. When I hold him I get the feeling of being a grandfather."

"Do you regret not having children, Isami-kun?"

"Sometimes, but I am happy enough with watching these boys grow up." Sadness could be seen in his eyes, but not for too long. He smiled at Hoshi, who laid now in his arms. "And Natsu?"

"I don't know what to do with him. He doesn't want to sit still, but you all are busy with your work."

"How about you ask Chizuru?" Hijikata said. "He could help with some of the chores or play around her."

"That would indeed be a good idea."

"Shall I look for her?" Hijikata asked, already standing up.

"No you don't have to. I will be fine on my own." Toshiko stood up as Hijikata sat down. She brushed Hoshi's cheek and walked towards the door.

"Have a nice walk," she heard Kondou saying before she left.

"Hijikata-san?"

Hijikata looked up from his work and turned his head to the door. "Come in."

The door opened and a young boy came in, followed by Chizuru.

"Are you sure it's not too much for you to take care of him?" He asked Chizuru as she put a cup of tea on his desk.

She shook her head, some strands of hair coming loose from her bound hair. "He listens very good and helps me with some chores."

Natsu sat down next to Hijikata. "What are you doing, nii-chan?"

Hijikata gave him a letter which was already done. "Writing letters."

"May I also write a letter."

Without answering the question with words Hijikata gave him a brush and a piece of paper and shoved the ink pot his way.

"Who are you going to write to?"

"Oka-chan."

Chizuru glanced over at Hijikata.

"Don't worry," was all he said.

"Shall I leave him in your care?"

Hijikata nodded.

Chizuru made her way to the door, but was stopped from opening it by Hijikata's hand.

"I want to talk to you for a moment."

Outside the room, Hijikata turned his back towards Chizuru. He took a deep breath, afraid of how she was going to react. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I should've known when to stop but…it just hurt me to see you in so much pain because of your past."

His voice was softer than usual, which made it clear for Chizuru that he was really troubled by what had happened before. She stayed silent for too long, making Hijikata turn around.

"Chizuru…" He'd made her cry. Again. "You're crying a lot these days, aren't you?" He took a step forward and brought his hand to her face. He brushed away the tears while smiling softly at her. She didn't resist his touch, so he took another step. Their eyes were locked, giving away a waterfall of emotions. Hijikata bent down a little, with the intention of placing a small kiss on her forehead. But what he saw in her eyes besides shyness and a hint of love, was fear. Just as his lips were about to touch her skin, she brought her hands up to his chest and pushed him away. She ran past him towards her room. Hijikata didn't bother stopping or following her. He really needed to take his time with dealing with her. She was a delicate girl with unexplainable feelings. Expressing his feelings would be more difficult now.

Back in the room he sat down next to his little brother.

"Nii-chan, what did you talk about?"

"I said sorry to her for what happened yesterday."

"Did you do something wrong?"

Hijikata looked at Natsu. His big brown puppy eyes reminded him of Chizuru. She always looked at him with the same sparkle if she wanted to be of use but he'd refused her offer.

"Nii-chan?"

"This stays between us, okay?"

Natsu nodded happily.

"I'm not very good with expressing my feelings. And Chizuru is a special person to me so I don't want her to feel sad. But I can't make her happy."

"Hug her. When I am sad I go to oka-chan and she gives me a hug."

"I'm afraid she will think of an excuse and run away."

"Do it quickly."

Hijikata smiled. "I will keep it in mind the next time I see her." He ruffled Natsu's hair and went back to writing and reading letters.

Chizuru walked through the garden. After sitting a few minutes in her room she needed something to distract her from her thoughts about Hijikata. She looked at the different kind of flowers. They were all so beautiful in their own way. She wished she could be as beautiful as they were. She had once felt beautiful. But that was only because she wore a kimono. And every woman would feel that way in a kimono.

She was often told by the men that she looked cute, with her big chocolate brown eyes. But there was a certain someone who hadn't said anything like that to her. She knew he wasn't the type of person to say that, him being not very good with words for emotional stuff, but still... It is only natural to want to hear those words from a special person.

Chizuru caught herself thinking about Hijikata once again. As she was scolding herself she didn't realize Toshiko walking next to her. When Toshiko grabbed her hand Chizuru glanced surprised to her right.

"What were you thinking about, Chizuru-chan?" Toshiko said as she smiled at the girl.

A light blush grew on Chizuru's face but soon vanished. "Nothing special."

Toshiko nodded slowly, guessing her thought must have been about her oldest son. "Where did you leave my little Natsu?"

"He is with Hijikata-san right now."

"Ah that's good. Siblings are supposed to spent time together."

Chizuru stopped walking, her thoughts wandering back to when she and her brother were still together.

Toshiko was too late with realizing what she'd just said. "Chizuru-chan, I'm sorry, I forgot for a moment what you told us yesterday."

Chizuru pulled back her hand and made a quick bow towards Toshiko. "I-I just remembered that I have to buy some extra food for dinner." She turned around and whispered "I'm sorry." She left. A single tear escaped her eye as she hurried away.

While walking around and searching for the vegetables she wanted to have for dinner she recalled her actions from before. She didn't want Hijikata or Toshiko to worry about her. But by how she ran away from both of them made her realize that she'd made them worry. She decided that when she would see Toshiko again she would apologize for her behavior. Toshiko had said to her that she could talk to her anytime about anything. And that she would gladly accept her as her daughter-in-law. Chizuru fastened her pace toward the shop, trying to think about something else.

She entered the building. It was a small room with a door to the back of the building. But there were a lot of food supplies. This was one of Chizuru's favorite shops. The woman who was in charge of here was always very kind to her, even though she worked for the Shinsengumi. Several months ago she died from a sudden heart attack. Through all the hardships her daughter Aiko took over the shop. She looked a lot like her mother. They had the same kind of sparkling in their eyes and they would always stay calm, even during war. They also looked alike with their looks. Aiko's hair was a little bit darker brown than her mother's but both had dark blue eyes and a perfectly shaped mouth. Chizuru had once been here with Harada and she remembered that he'd almost tripped over his own feet as he entered the shop. He was taken away by her beauty and wasn't being careful. Chizuru didn't tease him with that, even though it was pretty funny. But she knew how irritating it could get if someone kept making fun of about how you behave in front of the one you like. So she didn't do that by Harada. She definitely needed to ask Harada to accompany her again. Or maybe she could ask Aiko to come to the HQ, she almost knew for sure that Kondou would be happy with her having friends of the same gender and age.

She looked around the shop, scanning all the food with her trained eyes. She knew exactly what everyone liked and disliked, so she tried to make something that was within everyone's wishes.

"Chizuru-chan," Aiko said her name as she came in from the room behind the shop.

"Aiko-chan." Chizuru took a good look at her. The kimono she was wearing was stunning. It was light pink with blue patterns of birds and butterflies. Her hair was perfectly done into a knot on top of her head with a silver flower-shaped ornament in it.

"You look so cute in that kimono. Is it a new one?"

Aiko made a little circle on front of her friend. "Yes, I've been looking at it for months and now I finally had enough money to buy it." She sighed deeply as she glanced at Chizuru with half lidded eyes.

"Do you think..."

"That Harada-san will like it? I'm sure of it."

Aiko looked up, surprised that she knew what she wanted to say.

"I now know how people could make out that I like Hijikata-san, it's obvious as you see other people."

"You admitted it."

"Hm?"

"You said you like Hijikata-san."

"Ah." A blush grew on Chizuru's cheeks. "That-"

"Don't worry. I won't tell anybody but it's as you said. If girls are in love it is obvious."

A moment passed in silence. After that they both had to chuckle. Chizuru really liked it that she had someone here in town with whom she could talk about this kind of stuff. Of course, Sen was also in for this kind of talk but she wasn't here all the time.

"So do you want the usual?"

"A bit more, please."

"Oh you're having someone over?" Aiko asked as she picked some vegetables from a basket.

"Well, I'm not sure if I may tell you," Chizuru whispered.

Aiko looked around. The only people who were in the shop was an older pair. "You can tell me, they have bad hearing."

Chizuru smiled at the remark. "Hijikata-san's family is at the HQ."

"What?! I didn't know that he had living family members."

"I also didn't know, but it seems that his mother raised a few children who were homeless. So it's a pretty big family."

"Do you think it's possible for me to meet them?"

"I think so. His mother is really kind and carrying."

Aiko handed over the bag with the food supplies to Chizuru. "Tell me when I can come over."

"I will."

The girls said goodbye to each other and Chizuru made her way back to the HQ.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As Chizuru neared the gate of the HQ she saw someone leaning against the wall. He had his arms crossed and eyes closed. She hoped she could get past him without him noticing her.

"Chizuru."

Chizuru froze. She really didn't want to talk with him right now. Or later.

Hijikata turned a little, now looking at her. "Follow me." He started to make his way, without her following her. Chizuru stared at his back. It occurred to her that his tall silhouette mirrored his loneliness from all the years he couldn't see his family. She let her eyes follow him until je was out of sight. She took a deep breath and sauntered to the kitchen. She put everything where is belonged, trying not to about Hijikata. After putting the last things away she decided to go to his room.

Once in front of his room, she began to hesitate. She didn't know where to start with apologizing. There were so many thins she's done wrong. Not knowing what to do, she turned around. The sound of footsteps inside the room made her anxious. Just as she wanted to run away she felt long fingers slip around her wrist.

"Will you come inside, please?"

Inside his room, she didn't sit down.

"I'm sorry about what I did after you brought Natsu. I shouldn't have tried to… do that." His eyes were staring straight into hers, pleading her to forgive him.

"I also want to apologize, for running away, twice."

"Chizuru, is it okay for you to just forgive each other?"

"And to not talk about it anymore?"

Hijikata nodded.

"Okay."

Hijikata's tense shoulders relaxed and he let out a deep breath.

"Are you alright, Hijikata-san?"

"Yes, I'm feeling much better now." He smiled at her, making her heart skip a beat. She saw that he wanted to come closer, but he didn't do it. And she knew exactly why. So she took a step forward, as to let him know that it was okay right now for him to approach her. Slowly his hand moved to her face and he whispered her name. But that special moment soon vanished as someone loudly opened the door.

"Toshizou, quickly come." The girl in the door opening was Okimi. Her heavily breathing made her shoulder go up and down. Little blood droplets escaped the bruises on her hands and face.

"What happened, Okimi?"

"Natsu is stuck inside the bushes and he's panicking."

"Lead us the way." He took Chizuru's hand in his and followed Okimi.

"Why do I need to come with you?"

"He might be hurt, just like Okimi."

"Well, I'm sorry for getting hurt," Okimi snarled at him.

They arrived at the place, seeing Rini on hands and knees next to the bushes. She looked up as Hijikata kneeled down next to her.

"Natsu?"

"Nii-chan? I can't get out."

"It's okay, we're going to get you out of there." He turned to Rini and saw fear in her big watery eyes.

Chizuru noticed that Hijikata didn't know what to do, so she also kneeled down. "Rini-chan, could you tell us how he got in there?"

"He ran after a kitten." She started to cry.

Chizuru put her hand on her back and pulled her towards her in a hug. "It's going to be alright."

"Natsu, can you carefully turn to where my voice is coming from?"

"I don't know."

Hijikata took a deep breath and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Okimi asked.

"Nowhere." He took off the belt with his sword in the scabbard and handed it over to Okimi. He got back on his knees, broke some of the twigs and tried to look through the leaves. Natsu laid curled up as a kitten with his feet towards Hijikata.

"Hijikata-san, are you going inside and carry him out of there?"

"Yes."

"But-"

"There is no other way, Chizuru. He's not going to listen to anything I say." Hijikata slowly crawled towards Natsu. Some strands of his long hair got stuck around the twigs. He pulled his loose from the twigs, taking some with him. Just behind Natsu he stopped and touched the boy. "Natsu, look up."

Natsu turned his head a little. "Nii-chan…"

"It's okay. Get on your hands and knees."

Natsu did as he was told. Hijikata sat back on his knees and pushed the spiky branches aside. "Now go to the girls, there is a clear path."

Hijikata and Natsu sat on the stairs of the porch, their upper bodies naked.

"When will Chizuru-nee-chan come?"

"In a minute."

"I'm here," Chizuru said as she put down the band aid box behind them. "Okimi went together with Rini-chan to Toshiko-san, so we don't have to worry about them. I'd also asked you to tie up your hair."

Hijikata put up his hands, palms facing backwards. "They're also bruised." He heard a sigh coming from behind him and smiled secretly. In fact, he could've done it himself, the bruises didn't mind him at all. But he knew she was longing to touch his hair sometime.

Her fingers combed through his hair to get all twigs out. He wanted to see her face, even though he already knew what her face would look like. He also knew she'd get even more embarrassed.

"After this you need to wash your hair, there's still some dirt in it." She made a bun of his hair and moved on to Natsu's hair. After that she put ointment on the bruises and told them not to touch it.

"May it get wet?" Hijikata asked.

"No, if I say that it may not be touched, it may also not get wet."

"So how am I, are we supposed to wash our hair?" He felt her fingers stiffen as she softly touched a cut on the bade of his neck.

"I didn't think about that."

"Can Chizuru-nee-chan wash our hair?"

"Eh?"

"Only if she wants," Hijikata said.

"But isn't it better if Toshiko-san does it?"

"Didn't you say she was taking care of Rini and Okimi?"

"Yes."

"I want nee-chan to do it," Natsu winced. He stood up and crossed his arms, making a pouting face.

"Alright, I will do it."

"Yay!" Natsu jumped around, smiling happily, making Chizuru's heart flutter.


End file.
